I've played in the APA off and on since 1994, and had a really good time over the years, but this year I have come to the realization that this time is over and it's time to get serious about playing pool. So, I am going to contact Mark A. here in the Seattle area and find out what I need to know about the BCA, and go from there. Here's a few observations of the APA and the reason I'm leaving it:
Handicap system-
I think it's a total crock of you know what!
Firstly, has anyone ever seen this system? Does it exist on a spreadsheet or is it some type of software that performs calculations of a players last 15 games, then determine if they should go up or down? Or, is it up to the league operator, based on their potentially inconsistent observations of how a player has played recently. Is it subject to favoritism of one player over another? Or are rating kept static to "help" a team stay under their 23 rule cap for a spell?
From what I have witnessed, a league operator can arbitrarily move a player up or down based on their reputation or recent play, in order to match their SL more closely to "reality" I think this fact speaks volumes in terms of the integrity of the equalizer system. How can it be equal if the system allows judgment calls to be made like this? Where are the checks and balances?
I'm fed up with it if you can't tell, because in my League it seems like we have alot of people who should go up and don't, alot of people who shouldn't go up and do!
Equal(izer) my a$$!
Unfortunately, there are alot of motives for the league (some good, some bad) for it to stay that way.
The people/the players-
Over time & in the past, I've had many different types of people on my teams (I've been captain most years). All of them enjoy playing pool, but they rarely want to practice. Right now, I cant get my team together to practice on their own or in a group no matter what I try. The result is alot of lost games/points that drive me right up the 'friggin wall. Sometimes we get lucky and an un-practiced player beats an opponent, but most of the time they get their ass handed to them, like they should!!
It's this type of lack of dedication to the game that is driving me away. I don't want to play with these types any more, becasue it's dragging me down. Some of you reading this may have good teams that practice alot, well good on ya. Stick with them and practice away, hopefully you'll go far. It's really hard to find people that will play on a league team and dedicate themselves to the game of pool. It goes further than this......
This last fall session I had a great team. Not only did we all get along, but all were dedicated to the game and would practice regularly. We all played really well, holding first place with points to spare for 3/4 of the session. But over the last few matches my 2 went to a 3, some of my 3's became 4's, one 5 became a 6, and before you know it we can only play 1 or 2 combinations of players each night. I could only play if both my 3's should show up and I threw them both. It sucked. Finally, we had a good team, but due to the SL cap, we couldn't play together any more and had to break the team into two teams. Time to start over again....
That's the straw that broke the Camel's back. I have realized that I am never going to be happy in this league, because as soon as you become successful as a team, you have to split it up or add new players and drop old ones. When you change the roster on a great team, the teams performance is going to suffer. When you have to split a team into two, both teams really suffer.
I am hoping that by joining the BCA, I'll be surrounding myself with more people that really care abotu the game. People who practice and will encourage me to practice and play better, as well as exercise a little etiquette around the table for goodness sake!
So, there ya have it folks. There are other reasons why I don't care for the league, but at the risk of posting a topic that's too verbose, I'll pass for now.
I'll be joining the ranks of the BCA as soon as I can, never to play in the APA again after this session is over.
See ya Round!
Handicap system-
I think it's a total crock of you know what!
Firstly, has anyone ever seen this system? Does it exist on a spreadsheet or is it some type of software that performs calculations of a players last 15 games, then determine if they should go up or down? Or, is it up to the league operator, based on their potentially inconsistent observations of how a player has played recently. Is it subject to favoritism of one player over another? Or are rating kept static to "help" a team stay under their 23 rule cap for a spell?
From what I have witnessed, a league operator can arbitrarily move a player up or down based on their reputation or recent play, in order to match their SL more closely to "reality" I think this fact speaks volumes in terms of the integrity of the equalizer system. How can it be equal if the system allows judgment calls to be made like this? Where are the checks and balances?
I'm fed up with it if you can't tell, because in my League it seems like we have alot of people who should go up and don't, alot of people who shouldn't go up and do!
Equal(izer) my a$$!
Unfortunately, there are alot of motives for the league (some good, some bad) for it to stay that way.
The people/the players-
Over time & in the past, I've had many different types of people on my teams (I've been captain most years). All of them enjoy playing pool, but they rarely want to practice. Right now, I cant get my team together to practice on their own or in a group no matter what I try. The result is alot of lost games/points that drive me right up the 'friggin wall. Sometimes we get lucky and an un-practiced player beats an opponent, but most of the time they get their ass handed to them, like they should!!
It's this type of lack of dedication to the game that is driving me away. I don't want to play with these types any more, becasue it's dragging me down. Some of you reading this may have good teams that practice alot, well good on ya. Stick with them and practice away, hopefully you'll go far. It's really hard to find people that will play on a league team and dedicate themselves to the game of pool. It goes further than this......
This last fall session I had a great team. Not only did we all get along, but all were dedicated to the game and would practice regularly. We all played really well, holding first place with points to spare for 3/4 of the session. But over the last few matches my 2 went to a 3, some of my 3's became 4's, one 5 became a 6, and before you know it we can only play 1 or 2 combinations of players each night. I could only play if both my 3's should show up and I threw them both. It sucked. Finally, we had a good team, but due to the SL cap, we couldn't play together any more and had to break the team into two teams. Time to start over again....
That's the straw that broke the Camel's back. I have realized that I am never going to be happy in this league, because as soon as you become successful as a team, you have to split it up or add new players and drop old ones. When you change the roster on a great team, the teams performance is going to suffer. When you have to split a team into two, both teams really suffer.
I am hoping that by joining the BCA, I'll be surrounding myself with more people that really care abotu the game. People who practice and will encourage me to practice and play better, as well as exercise a little etiquette around the table for goodness sake!
So, there ya have it folks. There are other reasons why I don't care for the league, but at the risk of posting a topic that's too verbose, I'll pass for now.
I'll be joining the ranks of the BCA as soon as I can, never to play in the APA again after this session is over.
See ya Round!
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